Floor Door Done and Installed!
#10
Got it done!  Pretty happy with how it came out.  A friend of the homeowner did the calculation on what shock to use and another friend made the brackets out of 1/2" steel!!

The first two pics show the interior of the door and the 5/8" thick poplar that I used.  I used 1/2" birch ply for each side.  Once I assembled the (8" x 8") grid work, I used West System epoxy and 150 screws on each side to attach the plywood.  You can see the grid lines I drew to line up the screws on the bottom of the door.  It made the torsion box extremely stiff.  No worries here about any failure due to weight on the door!  I used a VERY heavy continuous hinge with 1/4" GRK screws attaching it.  The door sits on 2x4's along each side.  I used five 1/4" GRK lags to attach the brackets on each side to the floor joist.  I used some ash to set the brackets out so that they were under the door.  The brackets on the door were made of 1/4" steel angle and attached with four 1/4" GRK lags on each side.

   

   

The rest of the pics show the finished product.  I did put two steel plates on the bottom to get it perfectly balance.  Right now it takes maybe 15-20 pounds of force to raise the door.  Once you get it to a little above waist level, you can let go and the shocks take it the rest of the way up.  Maybe 25 pounds of pressure to close.  They had the flooring and I made the trim out of walnut.  Amazing how it matches the flooring!

   

   

   

   
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#11
Nicely done. Was it difficult to figure the gas cylinder/shock size?
Treat others as you want to be treated.

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West.
24- year cancer survivor
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#12
I'll have to say that this is the first door in a floor I've seen built.  It looks like it turned out fantastic. That torsion panel grid should hold more than enough weight as I doubt anyone plans on parking a piano on top!

Well done sir. Well done.
Telling a man he has too many tools,
is like telling a woman she has too many shoes.
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#13
(12-12-2021, 12:58 AM)lift mechanic Wrote: Nicely done. Was it difficult to figure the gas cylinder/shock size?

I don't know since I didn't do the calculations! 
Big Grin

The homeowner had a friend who runs a tool and die shop.  The engineer at that firm did the calculations and then went on McMaster-Carr to match his numbers with the shock values.
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#14
Well done, that does match the floor quite well!
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#15
Fantastic work by all involved.  

John
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#16
One awesome looking project!

gary
I've only had one...in dog beers.

"You can see the stars and still not see the light"
The Eagles: Already Gone
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#17
Looks great. Do they get any draft coming up from the area below? 

Now they just need a rug and a speakeasy.
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#18
(12-13-2021, 08:29 AM)stav Wrote: Looks great. Do they get any draft coming up from the area below? 

Now they just need a rug and a speakeasy.
Thanks,

No draft that I know of.

She plans on getting an area rug so that would take care of any draft!
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